Handheld electronic device providing an alert when additional user action is required to initiate an outgoing phone call, and associated method

ABSTRACT

A method of facilitating the initiation of an outgoing phone call on a handheld electronic device including receiving a request to initiate the outgoing phone call and determining whether additional user action is required in order to initiate the outgoing phone call. If it is determined that additional user action is required, the method further includes: (i) displaying a prompt on the handheld electronic device that indicates that the additional user action must be taken in order to initiate the outgoing phone call, and (ii) providing an alert, such as an audible signal, that is separate from the prompt. Also, a handheld electronic device including a display, a processor, and a memory in electronic communication with the processor. The memory stores one or more routines executable by the processor for implementing the described method.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser.No. 11/064,709 entitled “Handheld Electronic Device Providing Alert WhenAdditional User Action is Required to Initiate an Outgoing Phone Call,and Associated Method,” which was filed on Feb. 24, 2005.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosed concept relates generally to handheld electronic devicesand, more particularly, to a handheld electronic device that provides analert to a user when a user attempts to initiate an outgoing phone calland the call cannot be initiated because additional user action isrequired. The disclosed concept also relates to a method of providingsuch an alert to a user of a handheld electronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art

Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples ofsuch handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal dataassistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellulartelephones, and the like. Such handheld electronic devices are generallyintended to be portable and thus are relatively small. Many handheldelectronic devices also feature wireless communication capability,although many such handheld electronic devices are stand-alone devicesthat are functional without communication with other devices.

Many handheld electronic devices include and provide access to a widerange of integrated applications, including, without limitation, email,telephone, short message service (SMS), multimedia messaging service(MMS), browser, calendar and address book applications, such that a usercan easily manage information and communications from a single,integrated device. These applications are typically selectivelyaccessible and executable through a user interface that allows a user toeasily navigate among these applications.

Many devices that provide telephone functionality include dedicated<SEND> and <END> keys, or the like, for enabling a user to initiate anew call, answer an incoming call, or terminate a call that is inprogress. The <SEND> key is typically able to initiate an outgoing phonecall when the user presses the key after the user either: (i) enters orinitiates the device's telephone application and enters a phone numberor selects a stored phone number (such as a number stored in a calllog), or (ii) enters or initiates the device's address book applicationand selects a particular stored contact.

Most address book applications enable a user of the associated handheldelectronic device to store multiple phone numbers for a given contact(e.g., home, office and mobile). This, however, presents a problem whenoutgoing phone calls to a selected contact are initiated from theaddress book application by depression of the <SEND> key. In particular,if a contact with more than one stored phone number is selected by auser and the user subsequently presses the <SEND> key intending toinitiate a phone call to that contact, instead of initiating a phonecall, the user interface of the device will display a screen containinga prompt that requests the user to select one of the multiple storedphone numbers to actually be called. Many users, however, forget thatmultiple phone numbers have been stored for certain contacts and oftenmiss the displayed prompt because they expect the call to beginimmediately and therefore quickly place the device to their ear afterthe <SEND> key has been pressed. It typically takes a few moments forthe user to realize that a call is not being initiated and that insteada selection of a particular phone number must first be made. A similarproblem can arise if the radio element of a handheld electronic devicethat enables wireless phone calls to be initiated and received has beenturned off by the user, such as to conserve battery power, and the usersubsequently attempts to initiate a phone call (forgetting that theradio has been tuned off). In such a situation, the user interface ofthe handheld electronic device will typically display a screen thatinforms the user that the radio is currently off and asks the userwhether the radio should be turned on. Again, in many cases the userwill have already placed the device to his or her ear waiting for thecall to be completed and, as a result, will not see the screen that isdisplayed. For obvious reasons, these situations present both anannoyance and an inconvenience to the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full understanding of the disclosed concept can be gained from thefollowing Description of the Preferred Embodiments when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an improved handheld electronicdevice in accordance with the disclosed concept;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the handheld electronic device of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views of exemplary contact information screensprovided on the display of the handheld electronic device of FIGS. 1 and2;

FIG. 5 is a view of an exemplary contact search screen provided on thedisplay of the handheld electronic device of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 is a view of an exemplary an outgoing call screen provided on thedisplay of the handheld electronic device of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 7 is an alternative view of the exemplary contact search screenshown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a view of the exemplary contact search screen shown in FIG. 7having a prompt displayed thereon indicating that additional user actionis required;

FIG. 9 is a view of another exemplary outgoing call screen provided onthe display of the handheld electronic device of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart depicting a routine executed by the processor ofthe handheld electronic device of FIGS. 1 and 2 for providing an alertto a user indicating that additional steps are required to initiate arequested outgoing phone call on the handheld electronic device of FIGS.1 and 2; and

FIG. 11 is a flow chart depicting a particular embodiment of the routineshown in FIG. 10.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the specification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An improved handheld electronic device and an associated method providea mechanism for alerting a user that additional action is required inorder to complete an outgoing phone call. As a result, users will beless likely to immediately place the handheld electronic device to theirear expecting a the call to be completed, when in fact no call will beinitiated until the user takes farther action.

These and other aspects of the disclosed concept are provided by amethod of facilitating the initiation of an outgoing phone call on ahandheld electronic device including receiving a request to initiate theoutgoing phone call, such as from the depression of the <SEND> key ofthe device, and determining whether additional user action is requiredin order to initiate the outgoing phone call. In addition, if it isdetermined that additional user action is required, the method furtherincludes: (i) displaying a prompt on the handheld electronic device thatindicates that the additional user action must be taken in order toinitiate the outgoing phone call, and (ii) providing an alert that isseparate from the prompt. Preferably, the alert comprises an audiblesignal such as a tone(s) or beep(s) or a voice recording, although thealert may also take other forms, such as, without limitation, avibration generated by the handheld electronic device. The alert may bea one-time alert, or may be an alert that is repeated periodically.

In one particular embodiment, the handheld electronic device includes anaddress book application having a plurality of stored contacts, and themethod further includes receiving a selection of one of the storedcontacts prior to receiving the request to initiate the outgoing phonecall. In this embodiment, the method includes determining whether theselected stored contact has two or more phone numbers stored inconnection therewith, wherein the additional user action that isrequired is a selection of one of the phone numbers by the user. If oneof the phone numbers is selected, the method further includes initiatingthe phone call to the selected phone number. In addition, in thisembodiment the method also includes determining whether the device'sradio element is turned off. If the radio element is determined to beoff, the method includes causing the radio element to be turned on,after which the call may be initiated.

The disclosed concept also relates to a handheld electronic deviceincluding a display, a processor, and a memory in electroniccommunication with the processor. The memory stores one or more routinesexecutable by the processor. The one or more routines includeinstructions for implementing and performing the various embodiments ofa method for facilitating the initiation of an outgoing phone call on ahandheld electronic device as described herein.

An improved handheld electronic device 4 in accordance with thedisclosed concept is depicted generally in FIGS. 1 and 2. The handheldelectronic device 4 includes a housing 8, a display 12, an inputapparatus 16, and a processor 20 (FIG. 2) which may be, withoutlimitation, a microprocessor (μP). The processor 20 is responsive toinputs received from the input apparatus 16 and provides outputs to thedisplay 12. Examples of handheld electronic devices are included in U.S.Pat. Nos. 6,452,588 and 6,489,950. The handheld electronic device 4 isof a type that includes a cellular telephone capability and, as will bedescribed in greater detail below, provides an alert when additionaluser action following a request to initiate an outgoing phone call, suchas through the depression of a <SEND> key or the like, is required toinitiate a phone call. As used herein, the terms “phone” and “telephone”shall refer to any type of voice communication initiated and conductedover a wired and/or wireless network.

As can be understood from FIG. 1, the input apparatus 16 includes akeyboard 24 having a plurality of keys 26, and a rotatable thumbwheel28. As used herein, the expression “key” and variations thereof shallrefer broadly to any of a variety of input members such as buttons,switches, and the like without limitation. The keys 26 and the rotatablethumbwheel 28 are input members of the input apparatus 16, and each ofthe input members has a function assigned thereto. Keys 26 include a<SEND> key 30 and an <END> key 32, the functions of which will bedescribed in greater detail below. The keys 30, 32 may include suitabletext and/or graphics (as shown) disposed (e.g., printed) thereon.

As is shown in FIG. 2, the processor 20 is in electronic communicationwith memory 44. Memory 44 can be any of a variety of types of internaland/or external storage media such as, without limitation, RAM, ROM,EPROM(s), EEPROM(s), and the like, that provide a storage register fordata storage such as in the fashion of an internal storage area of acomputer, and can be volatile memory or nonvolatile memory. The memory44 further includes a number of routines executable by processor 20 forthe processing of data. The routines can be in any of a variety of formssuch as, without limitation, software, firmware, and the like, and shallinclude one or more subroutines, processes, procedures, function callsor the like, alone or in combination.

Processor 20 is in electronic communication with audible signalgenerator 42. Audible signal generator 42 is adapted to, under thecontrol of processor 20, produce one or more audible signals, including,without limitation, a tone, beep or voice recording. Audible signalgenerator 42 may include any type of known speaker or other devicecapable of selectively producing such audible signals.

As is also shown in FIG. 2, processor 20 is in electronic communicationwith communications subsystem 45. Communications functions for handheldelectronic device 4, including data and voice communications, areperformed through communications subsystem 45. Communications subsystem45 includes a transmitter and a receiver (possibly combined in a singletransceiver component) and one or more antennas. Other known components,such as a digital signal processor and a local oscillator, may also bepart of communications subsystem 45. The specific design andimplementation of communications subsystem 45 is dependent upon thecommunications network in which handheld electronic device 4 is intendedto operate. For example, handheld electronic device 4 may include acommunications subsystem 45 designed to operate with the Mobitex™, DatTAC™ or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile data communicationnetworks and also designed to operate with any of a variety of voicecommunications networks, such as AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, PCS, GSM, and othersuitable networks. Other types of data and voice networks, both separateand integrated, may also be utilized with handheld electronic device 4.All or part of communications subsystem 45 may be referred to herein asa “radio element.” As is known, the radio element may be selectivelyturned on and off (unable to transmit) by a user. As user may, forexample, turn the radio element off to conserve battery power.

In FIG. 1, the display 12 is depicted as displaying a home screen 43that includes a number of applications depicted as discrete icons 46,including an icon representing a phone application 48, an address bookapplication 50 for storing information for a plurality of contacts, amessaging application 52 which includes email, SMS and MMS applications,a calendar application 54, a memo application 56 for enabling a user tocreate documents and to record notes, lists and the like, a taskapplication 58 for enabling a user to create and manage lists of tasks,and a browser application 60 for accessing and navigating the Internet.

In FIG. 1, the home screen 43 is currently active and would constitute aportion of an application. In addition, display 12 shown in FIG. 1 showsa dialog box 62 that indicates that there is currently a phone callcoming into handheld electronic device 4. Dialog box 62 provides certaininformation relating to the incoming call, including, for example, thecaller's phone number and identifying information if the caller andphone number are stored as a contact by address book application 50 ofhandheld electronic device 4. Other applications, such as phoneapplication 48, address book application 50, messaging application 52,calendar application 54, memo application 56, task application 58 orbrowser application 60, can be initiated from the home screen 43 byproviding an input through the input apparatus 16, such as by rotatingthe thumbwheel 28 and providing a selection input by translating thethumbwheel 28 in the direction indicated by the arrow 64 in FIG. 1.

As is known in the art, address book application 50 allows the user ofhandheld electronic device 4 to store contact related information for anumber of contacts, including, among other things, the contact's name,phone number, home and office addresses, email address, and otherinformation that may be used to contact the person. In addition, addressbook application 50 allows the user to store multiple phone numbers fora given contact. For example, a user may store a home, work and mobilephone number for a particular contact. FIG. 3 is a view of an exemplarycontact information screen 68 provided on display 12 of handheldelectronic device 4. Contact information screen 68 includes the contactinformation for a particular contact stored by the address bookapplication 50 of handheld electronic device 4. As seen in FIG. 3,contact information screen 68 includes only a single (work) phone numberfor the contact. FIG. 4 is a view of another exemplary contactinformation screen 70 provided on display 12. Contact information screen70 includes the contact information for another particular contactstored by the address book application 50 of handheld electronic device4 and, as seen in FIG. 4, includes three (home, work and mobile) phonenumbers for the contact.

FIG. 5 is a view of an exemplary contact search screen 72 provided ondisplay 12 of handheld electronic device 4. Contact search screen 72 maybe used to search the contacts stored by the address book application 50of handheld electronic device 4. As seen in FIG. 5, contact searchscreen 72 includes a listing, by name, of several of the storedcontacts. A user may select a particular contact listed in contactsearch screen 72 using input apparatus 16, such as by rotating thethumbwheel 28 and providing a selection input by translating thethumbwheel 28 in the direction indicated by the arrow 64 in FIG. 1. Onceselected, the contact will be highlighted as shown in FIG. 5. A user maythen initiate an outgoing phone call to the selected contact by pressingthe <SEND> key 30, or, alternatively, accessing a menu and selecting a“Call” function from the menu. Because, as shown in FIG. 3, theparticular selected contact in this case has only a single phone numberstored in connection therewith by the address book application 50, theoutgoing call will be immediately initiated. As a result, an outgoingcall screen 74 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on display 12 that indicatesthat the call to the selected contact has been initiated. If, however,as shown in FIG. 7, a contact having multiple stored phone numbers, suchas the contact displayed by contact information screen 70 in FIG. 4, isselected and the user subsequently attempts to initiate an outgoingphone call to that contact by pressing the <SEND> key 30, or,alternatively, accessing a menu and selecting a “Call” function from themenu, a phone call will not be immediately initiated. Instead, becausemultiple phone numbers exist for that contact, dialog box 76 will bepresented in contact search screen 72 shown on display 12 as seen inFIG. 8. Dialog box 76 includes a request that the user select, usinginput apparatus 16, a particular phone number to be called. Onceselected, as shown in FIG. 9, an outgoing call is initiated to theselected phone number, and an outgoing call screen 80 is displayed ondisplay 12 that indicates that the call to the contact at the selectednumber has been initiated.

However, as discussed above, a problem often arises due to the fact thatmany users frequently forget that there are multiple stored phonenumbers for some of the contacts. Such a user will, after selecting acontact having multiple stored phone numbers, typically then immediatelyplace handheld electronic device 4 to their ear, expecting the call tohave been immediately initiated. By doing so, the user does not see thedialog box 76 that requests that they choose a particular number tocall. It then typically takes a few moments for the user to realize thata call has not been initiated. The user will then remove handheldelectronic device 4 from their ear and see dialog box 76 for the firsttime. This is obviously an annoying and inconvenient circumstance forthe user.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a routine according to the disclosed conceptfor providing an additional alert to a user when additional actionfollowing an initiate call command, such as the depression of the <SEND>key, the accessing of a menu and the subsequent selection of a “Call”function from the menu, or the like, is required to initiate a phonecall. The purpose of the alert is to gain the attention of the userbefore the user mistakenly places handheld electronic device to his orher ear. The routine is preferably stored in memory 44 and is executableby processor 20. The routine begins at step 100, where processor 20receives an outgoing call initiation request/command, such as a commandsignal resulting from the depression of the <SEND> key 30 of handheldelectronic device 4, or, alternatively, the accessing of a menu andselection of a “Call” function from the menu on handheld electronicdevice 4. Next, at step 105, a determination is made as to whether anadditional step or steps (such as the selection of a particular phonenumber or the activation of the radio element) are required before therequested outgoing call can be made. If the answer at step 105 is no,then, at step 110, the requested outgoing call is initiated based oncurrent information possessed by processor 20, for example using anumber entered by the user. If, however, the answer at step 105 is yes,then, at step 115, a prompt is displayed on display 12 (for example, asshown in FIG. 8) that requests the user to take the additional actionrequired to initiate an outgoing call. In addition, an alert is providedto the user that is intended to separately indicate to the user that theadditional action is required to initiate an outgoing call. Preferably,the alert takes the form of an audible signal, such as a series of beepsor tones or a voice recording, that is output by audible signalgenerator 42. Alternatively, the alert may be tactile, such as thevibration of handheld electronic device 4 generated by a motor or thelike provided in handheld electronic device 4, or visual, such as theflashing of a light or the like that is likely to be seen by the user(more likely to be seen than the prompt on display 12). The purpose ofthe separate alert is to catch the attention of the user and indicate tothe user that the phone call cannot be immediately completed becauseadditional user action is required. The alert may be providedimmediately after it is determined that additional action is required,or after some period of inaction (e.g., 1-2 seconds). Next, at step 120,a determination is made as to whether the additional steps have indeedbeen taken. If the answer is no, then the routine returns to step 120and awaits the completion of the additional steps. If the answer at step120 is yes, then, at step 125, the outgoing call is initiated usingcommunications subsystem 45, as the additional steps that were performedby the user provided the input necessary to complete the call.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a particular implementation of the routineshown in FIG. 10. Specifically, FIG. 11 addresses situations where theadditional action that must be taken to initiate an outgoing phone callincludes turning on a previously turned off radio element of handheldelectronic device 4 and/or choosing a particular phone number to callfor a contact having multiple stored phone numbers. The routine beginsat step 130, where processor 20 receives an outgoing call initiationrequest/command, such as a command signal resulting from the depressionof the <SEND> key 30, or, alternatively, the accessing a menu andselection of a “Call” function from the menu. Next, at step 135, adetermination is made as to whether the radio element of handheldelectronic device 4 is turned on. If the answer is no, then, at step140, a prompt is displayed on display 12 that indicates to the user thatthe radio element must be turned on in order to initiate an outgoingcall. In addition, a separate alert as described above is provided tothe user, preferably in the form of an audible signal, the purpose ofwhich is to indicate to the user that the additional step of turning theradio element on is required to initiate an outgoing call. In oneembodiment, the user may cause the radio element to be turned on byselecting a “turn radio on” option that is provided with the promptdisplayed on display 12, which preferably is in the form of a dialogbox. The routine then returns to step 135 to determine whether the radioelement has been turned on.

If the answer at step 135 is yes, meaning the radio element is on, then,at step 145, a determination is made as to whether a particular contactentry was selected from the address book application 50 prior to thegeneration of the phone call initiation request/command (step 130). Ifthe answer is no, then, at step 150, the requested outgoing call isinitiated based on current information possessed by processor 20, forexample using a number entered by the user. If, however, the answer atstep 145 is yes, meaning a particular address book entry has beenselected, then, at step 155, a determination is made as to whether theselected contact entry has more than one phone number (e.g., home, workand mobile) stored in connection therewith. If the answer at step 155 isno, then, at step 160, a phone call is initiated to the phone numberstored in connection with the selected contact entry usingcommunications subsystem 45. If the answer at step 155 is yes, then, atstep 165, a prompt is displayed on display 12 (for example, as shown inFIG. 8) that requests the user to select a particular one of themultiple phone numbers stored in connection with the selected contactentry. At step 170, a determination is then made as to whether such aselection has been made. If not, the routine returns to step 170 toawait a selection. If, however, it is determined that a selection hasbeen made, then, at step 175, a phone call is initiated to the selectedphone number using communications subsystem 45. Although the routineillustrated in FIG. 11 includes steps for addressing both the situationwhere the radio element of handheld electronic device 4 is turned offand the situation where a contact having multiple stored phone numbershas been selected, it will be appreciated that an alternate routine maybe provided that addresses only one of these situations.

The alerts that are provided may be in the form of a single alert signal(e.g., a single beep or tone or closely spaced in time series thereof),or an alert that is repeated periodically until appropriate user actionis taken. As will be appreciated, such alerts will increase thelikelihood that a user will recognize and/or remember that additionalaction must be taken in order to initiate a requested outgoing phonecall, thereby preventing the situation where a user holds handheldelectronic device up to his or her ear waiting for the connection of acall that was never initiated.

While specific embodiments of the disclosed concept have been describedin detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications and alternatives to those details could bedeveloped in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure.Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to beillustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the disclosedconcept which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended andany and all equivalents thereof.

1. A method of facilitating the initiation of an outgoing phone call ona handheld electronic device having an address book application having aplurality of stored contacts and a radio element for enabling telephonecommunications capability, said outgoing phone call being intended forone of said stored contacts, the method comprising: receiving aselection of said one of said stored contacts; receiving a request toinitiate said outgoing phone call to said one of said stored contacts;determining whether said radio element is turned off; if it isdetermined that said radio element is turned off: (i) displaying aprompt on said handheld electronic device indicating that said radioelement must be turned on in order to initiate said outgoing phone call,and (ii) providing an alert, said alert being separate from said prompt;determining whether said one of said stored contacts has two or morephone numbers stored in connection therewith; and if it is determinedthat said one of said stored contacts has two or more phone numbersstored in connection therewith: (i) displaying a prompt on said handheldelectronic device indicating that one of said phone numbers must beselected in order to initiate said outgoing phone call, and (ii)providing an alert, said alert being separate from said prompt.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein each said alert comprises anaudible signal generated by said handheld electronic device.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein each said alert comprises avibration generated by said handheld electronic device.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein if said one of said phone numbers isselected, the method further comprises initiating said phone call to theone of said phone numbers that is selected.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein said steps of providing said alert comprisesperiodically providing said alert a plurality of times.
 6. A handheldelectronic device, comprising: a display; a radio element for enablingtelephone communications capability; a processor; and a memory inelectronic communication with said processor, said memory storing one ormore routines executable by said processor, said one or more routinesimplementing an address book application having a plurality of storedcontacts, said one or more routines being adapted to: receive aselection of one of said stored contacts; receive a request to initiatean outgoing phone call to said one of said stored contacts on saidhandheld electronic device; determine whether said radio element isturned off; if it is determined that said radio element is turned off:(i) provide a prompt on said display indicating that said radio elementmust be turned on in order to initiate said outgoing phone call, and(ii) provide an alert, said alert being separate from said prompt;determine whether said one of said stored contacts has two or more phonenumbers stored in connection therewith; and if it is determined thatsaid one of said stored contacts has two or more phone numbers stored inconnection therewith: (i) provide a prompt on said display indicatingthat one of said phone numbers must be selected in order to initiatesaid outgoing phone call, and (ii) providing an alert, said alert beingseparate from said prompt.
 7. The handheld electronic device accordingto claim 6, wherein said routines are further adapted to provide eachsaid alert by causing said handheld electronic device to generate anaudible signal.
 8. The handheld electronic device according to claim 6,wherein said routines are further adapted to provide each said alert bycausing said handheld electronic device to generate a vibration.
 9. Thehandheld electronic device according to claim 6, wherein said one ormore routines are further adapted to initiate said phone call to aparticular one of said phone numbers that is selected.
 10. The handheldelectronic device according to claim 6, wherein said one or moreroutines are further adapted to provide each said alert periodically.